Why Nairobi is on gridlock

Nairobi city motorists have been stranded for many hours as political parties' primaries came to an end today.

Head of Traffic in Nairobi Joshua Omukata said several sections of city roads were blocked as supporters of UDA, Jubilee, and ODM parties concluded their party elections on Friday.  

“We have seen a lot of political parties' activities today. In some places elections were taking place, while in others some party aspirants were picking nomination certificates,” said Omukata.

He said as others celebrated, sections of city roads around Pangani and Muranga road next to Jubilee party headquarters witnessed heavy traffic that affected several roads in the city.

Omukata also said that a fatal accident in Mlolongo contributed to the gridlock that has now kept motorists in traffic for hours.

The traffic boss told The Standard that the accident involved a bus that was heading to town from Kitengela and a boda boda motorist, who died on the spot.

“There were some protests by boda boda operators who blocked the road and this led to traffic snarl-up,” said Omukata.

The Standard has established that the city traffic also affected some roads outside the city center.  

Omukata said more traffic officers have been deployed to man various intersections to control traffic flow.

“We are doing all we can to unlock the snarl-up and we request motorists to follow traffic rules for ease of movement,” he said.